


Out of Reach, Out of Water

by umidra



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Mermaid Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Pirate chat noir, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-02-27 20:24:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18746461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/umidra/pseuds/umidra
Summary: Marinette had always been curious about the humans. Their nets would be cast into the waters, but they would never go down themselves. Perhaps, if she herself took a look...What could possibly go wrong?





	1. The Ship

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Turn Loose the Mermaids](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8238214) by [bookskitten](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookskitten/pseuds/bookskitten). 



> I've been into ML for a while and I decided I'm going to write a fic for it :') inspired by bookskitten's lovely story that I read on tumblr! I'll be updating my other story soon I promise!

Everyday she had watched the ships pass.

Though trade with humans had been more or less normalized as the centuries passed, it was rare for a mermaid like herself to approach the surface for such interactions. It was the mermen who conversed with the humans up on the surface, trading merfolk wares for the trinkets humans created. Their scales were less colorful and were much more brittle. They held little value for a human merchant. And if, in the event that the ship was a pirates, the mermen would be safe. Pirates and anyone on the market knew that it was a mermaid’s scales that were the most sought after rarity across the Seven Seas. While mermaid bubbles were a prized ingredient amongst witches in potion making, mermaid scales were among the rarest of materials a human could possess. The scales emitted a healing effect if worn on the body, and jewelry made from the scales became an icon of wealth amongst royalty. That is why a mermaid was never supposed to stray too close to the surface when ships were nearby, as the risk of being caught and killed by pirates was too great.

She knew all of this, but she was far, far too curious about the human world. From what her sisters told her (from what mermen told THEM), humans were finless, scaleless creatures with round bits of flesh for ears. Their skin was delicate and ripped easily, like the body of a newly molted crab. Many adorned themselves in cloth, and their teeth were more rounded than a merfolk’s. The mermen called the men hideous and rude, but she wanted to see for herself if that was really true. Not every merperson was beautiful here, so there must be a handsome human up on the surface… right?

She had spoken to her sisters about this, and most of them were in agreeance. “I think there has to be a handsome human up on the surface. How cruel it would be if they were all ugly.” Alya sighed, brushing her hair with the human trinket she received. It was made of wood and had many long spikes, though could easily be broken if a mermaid tried to bend it. “From what the sirens on the cliffs told me, there are quite a few handsome men up there!” Rose giggled, swimming around excitedly. “Human men are handsome, but they’re terribly greedy.” Tikki, the oldest sister, shook her head at her younger siblings, scolding them for their naivety. “Human men are incapable of truly understanding us mermaids. They use our sacred scales to adorn themselves and look beautiful because they are incapable of beauty on their own. I despise them.” She had always been harsh on humans because she had gotten caught in a net once. Nearby sirens helped her escape, but since then she had grown to hate humans. “But Tikki, surely there is a man up there that could? I’m sure out of every human we’ve seen pass by our waters there has to be one that is worth going ashore for.” Rose argued, turning to her other sister for help. “You agree, don’t you Marinette? I’ve seen you swim awfully close to the surface lately.”

Marinette hiccuped, looking around sheepishly at her other sisters, avoiding the scalding eyes of Tikki. “Well I’m sure there is a man up there that is handsome…” She mumbles, to which Alya and Rose look at their older sister pointedly. “You’ll be lucky if it’s not a pirate ship you find. They’ll snatch you up in an instant!” Tikki warns. “Be careful Marinette, you don’t want to find yourself in the jaws of a human.” She knew all of this. She knew her sister’s warnings were true.

And yet.

* * *

 

It was a perfect day. The light was filtering beautifully as it always did on days where the seas were calm. The waters were much warmer than they had been, so warm that even the fish were beginning to swim close to the surface. Occasionally seagulls would dive into the water to hunt, snapping up fish whenever they swam in the bird’s reach. The gentle songs of the cliff sirens signified that ships were passing by on their routes. Today, she had to catch a glimpse. She had to know.

A visit to her winged relatives was in order. When she poked her head above the surface, blinking at the sudden brightness from the sun, she was greeted with the bright and mischievous grin of her pink haired friend. “Well, look who decided to swim up here.” With a smile, Marinette hoisted her body up onto the rocks, combing out her wet hair. “You know I’m always happy seeing my feathered cousins Alix. I almost envy your ability to soar through the air.” With a sharp laugh, Alix flapped her wings, shaking her feathers. “Sky sirens like myself envy a mermaid’s ability to swim. How are our undersea cousins doing? I’ve always been a little envious of the sea sirens.” Pausing to watch a seagull fly overhead, Marinette hummed in thought. “The sirens have been making plans to swim elsewhere, actually. They’ve become quite restless staying here, especially Lila. She’s been complaining to everyone about how she’s absolutely dying to eat a human man’s heart.”

The girls laughed, a sound so sweet to any creature’s ears. A few birds flocked to their cliff and even a turtle swam close to hear. “I do envy our sea cousins. They have so much strength and such a captivating voice.” Marinette sighed, though Alix scoffed at the comment. “Oh please, once they transform into their true selves they aren’t much to look at.” She remarked, gesturing towards the mermaid with her head. “You’re much prettier Marinette. You might even seduce a sailor~” Gasping, Marinette splashed Alix with a flick of her tail, only making the pink haired girl burst out in laughter. “Oh c’mon Marinette, I know you’ve been waiting for a chance to see a human. The ships have been passing by recently so you’ll get your chance if you’re patient enough.”

Patience. That was it. When Marinette bid Alix farewell and slipped back into the water, she pondered on that thought. If she was patient, she’d be able to see one. All she had to do was be patient. Alix had told her about the paths that the ships usually sailed through, she just had to wait until one was going by, and she’d peak her head above just a little to see the humans. Then her curiosity would be satiated for the next few centuries to come. She just wanted a peek. So she waited patiently, hidden near some corals so she wouldn’t be seen. She would never tell Tikki she had gone up to see some humans, she would never hear the end of it.

The sun was sinking lower into the sky, but still the sea remained peaceful. The night swimmers were still sleeping, not yet active and on the hunt for prey. The orange and pink rays of light were beautiful, flickering through the gentle currents that shifted with the waves. Marinette found herself strangely at ease as she took in her surroundings. The water truly was beautiful. _I’ll never see another place like it._ She thought to herself. Though the thought quickly dissipated when she saw the shadow cruising above her. It was just like Alix described; as long as the body of a whale shark and just as wide. Swimming behind it, she couldn’t contain her curiosity, being so close to what she’d been so curious about for the last few centuries. She’d peak her head up above for just a few seconds. Just a few seconds and she’d dive back down and be fine with whatever she saw.

But as she poked her head above the surface, a thick black rope was hurled at her, trapping her body and encasing her. She screamed, wriggling and clawing through the holes, rising further out of the ocean each moment. Desperately reaching out towards the water, she wailed in agony, watching and writhing as she was lifted further and further away from her home. The unfamiliar cheers and yells of creatures around her made her flail and look around at her captors, and for a moment she stopped to see who had taken her from the sea.

The sight of rounded ears made her remember what Tikki had told her when she was still a young merchild.  
Reeking of something worse than a rotting fish carcass, with clothes encrusted with glittering armor and a large plume rising from their head. And if you see rounded ears adorned with jewels, you will know.  
As her body was thrown onto the ship, the yelling only got louder when the humans around her caught sight of her glittering scales. Desperately trying to see through the thick net, she thrashed her tail harder when she caught sight of a tall man making his way towards her. When he lifted his face to see her, she almost lost breath.

His skin was smooth and fair, his blonde hair messy and falling between his eyes. She had never known a color more lush and more vibrant than his eyes, greener than any turtle or anenome she had ever seen. His looks were unmatched, even among the merman she had met throughout the centuries. Though she was frightened beyond compare, she found him so captivating that she failed to notice the glittering jewels dangling from his ears.


	2. Chapter 2: Captain

In his life, he had only caught glimpse of a mermaid’s tail.

He had fought orcs, burguralized witches, and even outwitted a sphinx. But he had never seen the face of a mermaid before, aside from the scales he had traded on the market. He knew of their captivating beauty an angelic voices, but he didn’t know what to expect when he met one face to face. He almost didn’t believe the tales of their ethereal beauty. Which is why he very much wanted to meet one.

Other captains would kill for the chance to even outfit a sphinx for its treasure, or actually survive the rage of a witch screeching spells and throwing potions at them. But it seemed like they all had witnesses the mystifying beauty of a mermaid. Except him. At this point he was dying of curiosity. He wanted to know if their scales shined as brightly and if their songs were sung as sweetly as stories made them out to be.

When the shouts of his crewmates had pulled him from his maps towards the deck, he was stunned when he saw the net tangled around the writhing body of the creature he’d been searching his life for.

He saw her tail first (it was a little hard not to, with all that thrashing about), noticing the pearlescent pink glow her scales gave off. He had never seen such a beautiful luster, even amongst mermaid scales he’d seen during trades, these were the most beautiful. When he looked up to see the maiden whose tail he had been ogling, he lost his breath.

Never in his life had he seen such gorgeous eyes. They sparkled like an aquamarine in sunlight, hypnotizing him and drawing him near. Her dark hair cascaded past her shoulders, plastered to her rosy cheeks. Nudity wasn’t a shameful thing for mermaids but it certainly was for humans. As barbaric as a pirate he was, he was still very much a gentleman (of sorts), and it took a lot of willpower to keep himself from reacting to the sight.

“Why, haven’t we fished up a pretty little thing, haven’t we boys?” He exclaimed, and the men around him bumped each other and laughed loudly. She had grown tired and stopped her thrashing, but he knew she was still dangerous. Any creature’s strength was not to be underestimated. So his slow approach with a hand kept on his sword was necessary, but it frightened the mermaid to no end, and she lay shivering and flinching at each step he took.

“What’s the plan Captain? We could pawn her scales off for more than just a pretty shilling.” The Captain’s first mate sways over, chuckling while giving the mermaid a devious look. “Though the price of a live mermaid might fetch us a hefty supply of the finest ale, and I mean hefty.”

The amber eyes gazed at her, much like a predator’s. She had seen that look in the eyes of the sirens. It meant they were hungry, and their prey had been spotted.

“Can you think about anything other than booze, Nino?” The Captain crouches down, looking at the mermaid with intense eyes. “She’ll give us a fortune if we can find the right buyer…” He chuckles, standing up and motioning some men over. “Put her in my cabin. I’ll have a real good look at her tonight.” The men burst into cheers and guffaws again, and the mermaid thinks to herself that they’re like seagulls. All at once men swarmed her, pinning her down through the net. She could hardly squirm after her previous thrashing, and weakly she resisted her arms being bound behind her.

Two men opened the net and lifted her from the floor, taking her through different areas before dumping her in a large hollow container. It was deep enough for her to poke her head out of, but she couldn’t muster the strength to break free of the rope bounding her.

“I’m sorry we have to do this… It’s Captain’s orders after all.” A tall sailor lagged behind once his companion was gone, speaking softly to her. She refused to speak, glaring at him with as much menace she could put in her gaze. He did step back a bit, looking down at the floor. “It’s silly of me to apologize, we did just rip you from your home after all. If it were me, I don’t think I’d forgive anyone if they did that.” Without another word, he walks out of the room, closing the door behind him. For a moment, she felt a sense of remorse from him.

* * *

 

The space to herself allowed her to survey the room she was in. Many things were made of wood, but not the driftwood she would see floating around in the ocean. This wood looked solid, and shiny for some reason. Towards the back there was what she believed to be a “bed”. She had heard about them from Rose, who had heard from the cliff siren Juleka. It was apparently the human’s “nest” as the siren put it. Humans would stuff feathers into bags of cloth and sleep on it, covered by the fur of land animals. The process sounded so barbaric Marinette had had a nightmare about it.

Besides the barbaric nest, there was a shiny flicker that caught her eye as well. It glowed orange and yellow, and brightened the dimly lit room she was in. _Could it be… a star?_ She thought to herself, mesmerized by the light. There was no way a human could pluck a star from the sky. They can’t even fly! Perhaps it was the work of some sorcery… A witch or wizard could easily create something like this, but what was it called again? A wizard had visited the mermaids home before and traded some potions for merfolk wares, telling stories that seemed so ridiculous Marinette didn’t bother to remember…

The thought of home made tears well up, and she couldn’t stifle a few sobs that left her. She hadn’t heeded her sisters words. She was far too curious and unaware, and now she had been taken from her home. She wondered if she sang loud enough, they would be able to hear her, but thought that if the pirates caught her they’d kill her immediately. The window was hardly big enough for her to slip through, and with her hands bound and her energy low, she couldn’t do much of anything. She lay back against the hollow container, more aware than ever that she was probably going to die at the hands of these pirates.

“Excuse me…” The door swung open, and the tall man from before stuck his head in tentatively. She hadn’t noticed it before, but there was a blonde tuft of hair sticking out from underneath the cloth wrapped around his head. “You must be hungry, the Captain requested me to make you something to eat.” She glanced at the food he was carrying on another piece of wood, squinting at how strange the fish looked. It was… brown… and dry looking… And next to it… some sort of sponge? It was full of holes, with a brown crust surrounding it. She was always told that human food was quite a delicacy, but this looked… incredibly unappealing…

“I’ll put it right here.” The man places the wood on the edge of her container, stepping back quickly. “Tell me if it’s to your liking, if not I can procure something else...” He turns and begins to leave, but looks at her when she blinks at him with a furrowed brow. He looks into space for a moment, confusion flitting across his face.

“Ah… I guess you can’t eat if your hands are tied behind your back… I guess I can undo it for you… but…” The tentativeness from him as he slowly approached her allowed her to gaze into his grey eyes. They held much more kindness than she had anticipated, in spite of his looks. She relaxed only slightly when he reached to cut the ropes holding her wrists, looking at him when he quickly backed away once she was freed. Perhaps she could trust him…

“You should be able to eat now. I’ll come back for your tray once you’re done.” And with a few quick strides he rushed out of the room, closing the door once more behind him. She stared at her meal in front of her, poking the sponge like object. It was certainly much softer… and it emitted heat. Ever curious, she took a bite out of it, not expecting the strange texture to be quite delightful. It was crunchy at the darker part, but soft and squishy, yet not as nearly as chewy as kelp. She took another bite, all the while eyeing up the fish next to it. She felt sorry for it, but still picked it up and inspected it. Sniffing it, she took a hesitant bite from its belly, disappointed with its taste. It wasn’t nearly as fresh and delightful as a normal fish was, and its flavor seemed to have disappeared. The crunchiness was a strange texture, but she continued to eat it anyways. The bones splintered in her mouth, but a thorough chewing and it went down easily. The white sponge was far tastier, so she busied herself with enjoying that instead.

“Do you like Ivan’s cooking, my lovely mermaid?”

The voice jolted her upright, and from the open door stood her handsome, blonde haired captor. He chuckled when she looked away from him with a scowl, while still holding onto her food. “Stubborn aren’t we? He did say you wouldn’t say a word, but at least you’re stuffing your face with the bread he made. That’ll delight him.” She paused, looking down at the sponge she was holding. _So this is called bread…_

“Still giving me the silent treatment eh? Even after I so kindly fed you.” He came up close to her, leaning down with a wicked looking grin. “I don’t take too kindly to that kind of thing, _ma chérie_.”

He was so terribly, terribly handsome she almost overlooked how annoyingly cocky he was. Up close didn’t help her nerves either, even if she was frightened of him she was still very much intrigued..

She was so beautiful and alluring, even if she didn’t say a word. Naturally he fell back onto a brasher, arrogant attitude to suppress his nerves. He silently cursed himself for acting like a shy little school boy and being more mean than he usually was to women. She obviously wasn’t like most, but…

He roughly grabbed her chin and forced her eyes up to him. He really didn’t want to be so uncouth with her, but he didn’t want a trace of nervousness to be seen. She was still very much a fearsome creature of the ocean and she could kill him if she really wanted to. Surprisingly though, it was her eyes, shining a topaz blue within the lamp light, that were killing him. They were hypnotizing him and he gripped her cheeks tighter to keep his concentration.

“ **_Do not touch me, you disgusting pirate._ **”

He had forgotten her hands were untied.

The force from her slapping his hands away threw him back and made his back hit the wall of his room. He stared at her trying to collect himself, dazed from the strength that she had despite being weakened from being out of the water for so long. If she knew, she would be able to kill a majority of his crew if she so desired.

Though they might have all died at the sound of her voice alone. Despite the disgust in her voice, it sounded like the soft chime of a bell, and he knew she must be a gentle and kind mermaid from that alone. This, he would keep to himself.

“ _Ma chérie,_ I really do not take kindly to such behavior. Would you rather me skin you of your scales now, while you are alive?”

She scowled at him, baring her teeth a little before turning away from him. Her teeth were… sharp, like a predators. He should’ve expected as such, but her gentle face didn’t match that sort of temperament. He sighed and shook his head, but in truth he was conflicted. He could easily sleep and leave her be, but a part of him didn’t want to be intrusive… even if it was his room, she was… she was still a lady...

“We’ll see what happens tomorrow _chérie…_ expect me early in the morning.”

And as suddenly as he had appeared, he left with a swift shut of the wooden door.


End file.
